Continuing from the previous article on effectiveness, we are continuing in our Time Management Series. This article features one of the most widely quoted economic principles on productivity – the “Pareto’s Law,” aka “80/20 Rule.”
Vilfredo Pareto was an Italian economist who one day observed in his garden that 80% of the peas were produced from 20% of the pea pods.
After this observation Pareto published in his work Cours D’économie Politique that 80% of land in Italy was owned by 20%. This same principle applies to many other events on many different levels.
The generalization of this principle states that:
80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.
Here are some more examples of Pareto Principle:
- 20% of the ants do 80% of the work
- 20% of your clothes in the wardrobe are worn 80% of the time
- 20% of drivers cause 80% of all traffic accidents
- 20% of company products represent 80% of sales
- 20% of sales reps are responsible for 80% of the company’s revenue
- the list goes on and on…
How to apply Pareto’s Law to increase my daily productivity?
When it comes to a list of tasks, look closely at each item for their effectiveness, and prioritize them accordingly. You need the discipline here. You are to focus and only focus on 20% of the tasks that will produce 80% of the results. Resist your temptation. Despite how easy the other tasks(remainder 80% that didn’t quite make the cut) appear, keep your focus on top-yielding 20%. Only after you complete that 20%, then you can now work on the less important tasks. Or better yet, call it your day forget the rest 80%. Enjoy the remainder of your time that you rightfully earned from being smart and productive.
Be disciplined on the 80/20 Rule. You will have so much free time and others will start recognizing you as a highly effective person.